Angels and Penguins (posted by Judith)

Hello Folks, I have some more Christmas card ideas to share with you today. The festive season is coming around fast now, and like me, you are probably thinking about the number of Christmas cards you have still got to make!

Mt first card is using the lovely angel stamp from the A Child is Born stamp sheet. I do love this image. I stamped the angel onto a piece of smooth watercolour paper, but any smooth card will do, and then masked the image, by stamping the image again onto masking paper. I then stamped a window taken from the Gothic Fragments stamp set onto the background, and masked this as well. I coloured the background using a range of Distress Inks, and then added stamps from the Gothic Fragments, and the Harlequin Fragments stamp sets. The last two strips were embossed with silver embossing powder. I removed the masks, and coloured the window and the angel with water based markers and a water brush. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Christmas Sentiments Multi buy stamp set.

My second offering uses the Snowy Penguins clear stamp set. I have created a couple of gelli plate backgrounds, using dye based inks in shades of blue and teal, and then stamped the snowflakes directly onto the plate, before taking a print. I stamped the images onto a piece of smooth white card, and edged them with blue ink. The images were coloured with pencils.

These images are perfect for children's Christmas cards, and so the little matching tag will be great for a little someone's present on the big day. Keep checking back for more inspiration from my team mates over the coming days.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

 

Going around in Circles (posted by Judith)

Hello Folks, I have some samples on circular theme for you today, using the stamps of the month.

For my first sample, I created a watercolour background in shades of green and purple, and then added a circle mask in the centre. I stamped an image from the Harlequin Fragments stamp set around the edge of the mask, using green ink. I sponged a little bit of green ink around of the mask to add some shading, before removing the mask. I stamped and embossed the holly and bell images from the Holly Bells stamp plate using gold embossing powder. I also stamped another set of  images onto a spare piece of card. I coloured the spare images with water based markers and a water brush  and decoupaged them onto the background. I added some hand drawn 'string'. The sentiment is from the Christmas Magic stamp plate.

For a more detailed  explanation of how I made this card, you can hop over to My Blog

I have a couple of CAS cards that I would also like to show you. In these days of rising postage costs, flat cards are always useful to make, and these two cards would make good batch cards, that you could make in lots of different colour options as well. The first card was made using blue and lilac tones, and I simply created a reverse mask, sponging coloured ink through a circle aperture onto my card. I coloured the top and bottom circles first, and overlapped the middle one last. I then selected three baubles, taken from the Santa Baby/Holly Bells Multi-Buy stamp set, and stamped them in the same inks that I used to create the circles, giving a tone on tone effect. The sentiment was taken from the Christmas Sentiments Multibuy

The last card was made in much the same way, except that I created a single circle, blending yellow and green inks, and chose a stronger ink to stamp the bells. The sentiment comes from the Bold Christmas Words stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Best Wishes (by Doreen)

Hello to you all, I am back sharing another sample using the gorgeous 

Harlequin Fragments

I first inked up my card with Picked Raspberry and Faded Jeans Distress inks then I sprayed my fragment stamp with water and stamped this onto the inked card. This then removes the ink......

Once this was dry I then stamped the Harebell Butterfly image over the top and coloured in with distress inks.  I inked the edge with Black Soot to add depth then mounted onto white card.

Oh Christmas Tree

I am also sharing a Christmas card this time using stamps from the  "Turtle Doves stamp sheet". I first of all clear embossed the stamp with black Versafine then using a mask for the moon blended Faded Jeans and Black Soot distress inks for the sky. The hills in the background were made using some torn card and  more fade jeans on some sponge.The tree has been coloured in with Distress inks and the gorgeous sentiment is from Newly released Christmas Magic stamp sheet .xxx

Snowy Christmas in July (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well and ready to see some Christmas designs during the hot months of summer :)   At least it's hot where I live in Ontario, Canada which feels great after our long cold and snowy winter. 

I like to get started on Christmas cards early and as soon as I saw the Harlequin Fragments I thought they were a great match with Harlequin Christmas.

The background was created by blending Festive Berries and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks. I stamped the fragment from Harlequin Fragments with Festive Berries DI.  I stamped the bubble edge from Decorative Edges with Seedless Preserves DI and I coloured them with a white gel pen.

The Harlequin ornament and sentiment from Warm Christmas Greetings were stamped with Cobalt Archival ink.  I coloured the ornament with Dylusions inks and cut it out to attach over the background. 

I was very happy to see the two new Christmas sets, Snowy Scenes and Turtle Doves.  Both sets are full of beautiful smaller designs which have been great fun to use while getting a good start on Christmas cards. 

The background above was created a while ago and sitting in my stash.  It looks like I used Turquoise Dylusions inks (possibly a 'mop up' sheet) which I stamped with Big Bold Background Snowflake Shadow and coloured the snowflakes a little with a Tombow marker.   I stamped the Snowy Scene with Colbalt Archival ink, coloured with Prisma pencils and die cut with an ornament.   I was inspired by a design former DT member Elaine created a year & half ago using the same die.  As soon as I saw the little scenes in the set, it came to my mind to use my die for the first time.   Let it Snow is a clear stamp available on it's own or part of the Big Bold Christmas Words clear set.


I have one more card using the same little Snowy Scene image:

The background above was created with Lime and Green Dylusions inks.   I over stamped a little snowflake from the Snowy Scenes set and used TCW Starfall stencil with Distress Ink and TCW Circle Explosion stencil with Viva  Mother of Pearl light blue molding cream which has a silver hue.  I coloured the main image with Prisma pencils and added lots of glitter to the snow.   

Thanks for your visit and have a great day!
Shirley

Harlequin Friends (by Debbie)

 

A bit of an unusual title because my projects are made with the help of my friends.

 

I bought this small canvas a few years ago and it's sat in a box neglected. I wanted to show how the Harlequin stamp from Harlequin Fragments is perfect for mixed media, the canvas was perfect.

I had been very generously given a paper napkin by Glenda, a set of paper bird cages from Lesley and some hessian flowers from a friend Katy.

 

 

 

The canvas already had a gesso coat and I stamped the Harlequin with Archival Cornflower Blue.

 I didn't use an acrylic block as the canvas is flexible and it gives a better image when stamped.

I split the tissue and glued the patterned layer onto the canvas. When dry, I distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink and stamped the word 'Love' from Artistic Affirmations

The little bird cage was coloured and triple embossed with clear powder.

 I finished by adding the ribbon, flowers, pearls and lace.

 

Here are a couple of tags using the Harlequin stamp on large tags I cut that will go into a tag book I'm making, I'll post photos when it's finished.

 

 

Judith inspired me to use the Remembrance Poppies for this tag as they are her favourite flowers.

 

 

Thank you for visiting

Debbie

Blue Butterfly (by Doreen)

Hello to you all, I am back with another sample made from the new  

Harlequin Fragment 

stamps that have just been released for July

This was made by first masking off some of my card before sponging with Faded Jeans Distress ink,then I inked up my stamp with Cornflower Blue Archival Ink and stamped over the top.

I then removed the masking tape and stamp the Birthday Words sentiment. I used a butterfly stamp from the Harebell Butterfly sheet and decoupaged this.

Harlequin Poppy (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope are enjoying the weekend.

I have a card to show today using a fragment from the new Harlequin Fragments Set in the background and a pretty poppy & butterfly from Harebell Butterfly.

The large background was created with Mowed Lawn Distress ink.  I also stamped the harlequin fragment with the same ink.   The smaller background was created by blending distress inks. It's hard to see in the photo but I lightly stamped the harlequin fragment again.   I coloured the main image with Prisma pencils.

If you love our DT blog then keep your eyes open for something new and colourful coming next week.   All will be revealed soon, keep visiting the DT blog to make sure you don’t miss it. Getting excited yet?

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!
Shirley

Feathery Fragments & Presents (by Asha)

Good morning, fellow crafters. Today I have 3 cards to share with you, featuring stamps from the brand new Harlequin Fragments A4 sheet. A full description of inks, markers and other materials used in these project is available on my blog.

My first card is a bright and cheerful number. I started by inking the background in various shades of yellow. Then I fashioned the border by repeat stamping around the card. Next I stamped the feathery backdrop in blue ink. The end result is an image in turquoise green - perfect for the fussy cut peacock from the Indian Textiles A5 sheet. The greeting is from Birthday Words A5 sheet.

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My second project is all about the calm blue waters. Here I'm using a stamp from the Harlequin Fragments A4 sheet to create bubbles and foam by inking in blue and white. The supporting cast - clouds and gulls - are from Seashore Scenes A5 sheet and Seashell Collage A5 sheet respectively. That sentiment is from Words Of Comfort And Cheer A4 sheet.

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My final project for today is a birthday card, created with the help of the pile of fussy cut pressies from A Gift Of Christmas A4 sheet.  First I prepared the background with warm pink inks and the harlequin stamp from Harlequin Fragments A4 sheet. The sentiments is from Birthday Words A5 sheet.

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Thank you for stopping by today. Make sure you drop in regularly to see more inspirational work from the rest of the Design Team.

Beijinhos,
Asha

A Bit of Diversity (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, my post today shows just how versatile the Harlequin Fragments/Tangled Fragments multibuy set can be. I have created some very different looking cards using these great new stamps.

My first card was created using the watery background stamp, which I stamped onto a strip of white card, using black ink several times. I then created three pieces of decorated stampbord, using three layers of embossing powder and stamping into them while the last layer was still molten. I brushed a little bit of gold pearl powder into the crevices to pick up the detail of the stamp.

I matted the background onto a piece of toning card, and stuck this onto a larger piece of black card. I added a sentiment taken from the Artistic Affirmations stamp set.

 

My second card was created using a piece of smooth watercolour paper, which I sprayed with diluted Distress Ink. I then stamped the dotty stamp and the stone effect stamp, using the same colour Distress Ink over the background. I embossed the single stone spine in the centre using a silver embossing powder. I added some ferns around the edges, taken from the Wild Meadow stamp set using green and purple inks.

I stamped and embossed a flower from the Tangled Garden stamp set, plus the leaf fragment using silver embossing powder, which I then painted with water based acrylic inks. I decoupaged the flower, added the larger leaves to the stem, and used the smaller leaves for a grass effect. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set to the background.

 

My final card was again created using a piece of smooth watercolour paper for the background. This time, I sprayed it with Dylusions spray to create a base for the rest of the background, rolling off some of the intense colour with a paper towel.  I stamped the large bubble background, and the dotty harlequin stamp using a turquoise archival ink.

I embossed the butterfly from the Steampunk Buterfly stamp set and some flowers from the Punky Flowers stamp set, using copper embossing powder. I coloured them with water based acrylic inks. I added a stamped swirl from the Artistic Expressions stamp plate to resemble leafy tendrils behind the flowers. The sentiment was taken from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set.

I hope that I have given you a couple more ideas for these stamps, and that you will try them out for yourselves. Keep checking back for more inspiration from my team mates every day this month. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Punky Tangles

What I like about the stamps in the fragment series is that they work really well alone or with many other Chocolate Baroque designs. So my contribution to this month's DT blog uses both of our new stamp sets, Harlequin Fragment and Tangled Fragments, combined with Punky Flowers.

1. The background is created on a piece of smooth white cardstock measuring approx 8.5" x 3.75" (21cm x 9.2cm), using the acrylic block technique* with Distress Inks  in Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint and Peacock Feathers. Set aside to dry thoroughly.
2. Using the solid circles image from Harlequin Fragments 'ink' up the stamp with either white acrylic paint, or gesso, and then stamp repeatedly (and randomly) over the inked background. You don't necessarily need to add more paint between stamping, that way you get more of a faded look, but this is down to personal taste. Again allow to dry thoroughly.
3. Using the same combination of Distress inks create another acrylic block background, this time on white paper;160gsm is good for this as it has a bit of body and dries well. Make sure you create a decent sized green/blue area ( this will be used to make the flower stalk).
4. Once dry use Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp the largest flower image and one of the smaller ones from Punky flowers onto the coloured paper background and cut out. Cut between the petals of the small flower and shape to give the effect of movement and depth.
5. Again, using Tuxedo Black, stamp the stalk-like image from Tangled Fragments onto the green/blue area of your coloured paper. Decide which part you want to use for a stalk and cut out.
6. Attach the stalk loosely to the card only applying adhesive here and there. Randomly turn up a few of the 'leaves'. Attach the flowers using 3D foam pads.
7. Finally stamp the word 'Beauty', from Artistic Expressions, as illustrated.

* The acrylic block technique was used by Glenda in her Monday Mojo Magic series which is currently being re-run with new artwork for 2014. If you want to sign up for the remainder of the series please click here

I hope this has given you the inspiration to try this technique and don't forget to keep coming back to the blog to see lots more creative designs from my fellow teamies.

Tangled Peacock card (by Debbie)

 

When I saw this stamp on the Harlequin Fragments sheet I immediately could see Peacock feathers although I'm sure it will bring different patterns to mind for others.

 

 

 

 

With Seedless Preserve Distress Ink, I rubbed it onto an acrylic block and lightly sprayed with water then placed the stamp onto it to pick up the ink. When on the card it slightly spreads.

I repeated with Mown Lawn and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks stamping randomly on the card.

The Peacock stamp is from Tangled Peacocks

When I had stamped and heat embossed the Peacock I placed tape around the image so that the water colouring with Distress inks didn't run and I had a white frame around it. I picked out the blue for mounting onto.

 

Many thanks for visiting

Debbie.



Green Harlequin by Doreen

Hello to you all, Doreen here sharing one of my samples made using the gorgeous new

Harlequin Fragments 

I have started by inking some white card with Antique Linen Distress Ink then using Evergreen Bough stamped my background. I inked the edges with some more Evergreen Bough and then edged with Black Soot.

I die-cut a small piece of green card and stamped the flower silhouette from the July Fairy stamp sheet twice without re-inking the stamp. Finally I stamped the sentiment  and mounted it onto foam pads.

Beauty with new Fragment Stamps (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.  

I was very excited to see the fabulous new Harlequin and Tangled Fragments stamps for July as I love all the other fragment sets, the possibilities using them are endless.   For my first couple of designs I decided to pair fragments with the beautiful Sunny Sunflowers.

I used the following stamp sets for the card above - Harlequin Fragments, Sunny Sunflowers and Artistic Expressions.

The background was created by using an Acrylic block and Mustard Seed Distress Ink.  I stamped one of the fragments from Harlequin Fragments with the same ink and the more solid design with Peacock Feathers DI.  I embossed the flower and leaves with gold, coloured with Tom Bow markers, decoupaged and popped up to attach.  I added liquid pearls to the centre. 

And below is another design using the same stamps sets but with a green background:

I used the following stamp sets for the card above - Harlequin Fragments, Sunny Sunflowers and Birthday Words.

The background was created by using an Acrylic block and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.  I stamped one fragment with Olive Archival Ink and embossed the other one with gold.   Again I embossed the sunflower and leaves with gold.  I stamped the flower twice, coloured with Tom bow markers, decoupaged and popped it  up over the background.

I hope you can come back often as my talented teammates have lots of beautiful designs to show you using the new stamps.

We announced the winner for June's comments in the first post today if you would like to check to see who won!

Thanks for your visits and comments.  
Have a great day,
Shirley

Sunflowers And A Raven (by Asha)

Good morning everybody! Today I have 2 projects to share with you - both made using the new Harlequin Fragments A4 stamp sheet.

For the first project, I lightly inked the background and stamped the large harlequin design with Distress inks. Next I coloured a couple of sunflowers and leaves from the Sunny Sunflowers A4 stamp sheet with alcohol markers. I fussy cut and adhered them with some foam tape. To finish: a couple of flat-back pearls and a greeting from the BirthdayWords A5 stamp sheet. A very quick and easy make.

For my second, project let's fast forward a few months to Halloween. This time I made a misty background with one of the stamps from the Harlequin Fragments A4 sheet. The spooky extras are from the Spookylicious A5 stamp sheet. I heat embossed the raven and moon using black embossing powder and fussy cut them. The sentiment is stamped on vellum and adhered to the card with clear drying glue.

Thank you for stopping by today. Make sure you drop by regularly to see more inspirational work from the rest of the Design Team. In the meantime, start inking your new stamp sets!

Beijinhos, 
Asha

Building Backgrounds (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I have a couple of samples to show you today, using the Harlequin Fragments/Tangled Fragments multibuy stamp set.
For my first card, I have chosen a soft colour scheme, using a printed tag, and embossed the dotty harlequin stamp using white embossing powder. I have used the large dotty stamp on the main background, stamping my image onto scrap paper first, then onto the card to get a fainter image. This is known as second generation stamping. I stamped three butterflies from the Briar Rose Butterfly stamp set onto beige vellum, using white embossing powder.

The poppy image is from the Flora and Fauna stamp set, which I stamped onto white card and coloured it using pencils before cutting it out. Lastly, the sentiment comes from the Mackintosh Sentiments clear stamp set, and I have again embossed this with white embossing powder. I sanded the edges of all of my pieces of card before assembling my project, and added some cream lace.

My second project was made using a tag that I coloured with leftover inks from my project here as I did not want to waste the remaining ink. I coloured two further tags, and this was one of them. I stamped the large background stamp using a dark blue ink, and added white highlights. I used a stamp from the Artistic Expressions stamp set on the background using a turquoise ink, which I also used to edge the tag.

I stamped a peacock feather from the Tangled Peacock stamp set onto pale green vellum three times using navy ink and clear embossing powder. I coloured the reverse of the images with alcohol markers before cutting them out. A piece of emerald ribbon finishes the tag.

Keep checking back for some fabulous samples from my Team Mates in July. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Introducing the July stamps of the month (posted by Judith)

In Glenda's absence, while she is going through her house move, I would like to introduce the July stamps of the month to you. There are two A4 stamp sets called Harlequin Fragments and Tangled Fragments. These two new sets are a wonderful addition to the Fragment series; they are extremely versatile and, as you will see over the next month, they  work very well both alone and with many other Chocolate Baroque stamps.

First is Harlequin Fragments

and then we have Tangled Fragments, both are available at an introductory price. But if you want to save even more money then we have our usual multi-buy offer too.

All offers are available on the website until the end of July.

My sample uses a stamp from the Harlequin Fragments stamp set, which I have repeat stamped over a wrinkle free Distress background to create a watery feel. I have then stamped a bauble from the Artists Baubles unmounted stamp set onto a piece of scrap card, and coloured it in using Inktense pencils. I have added a sentiment from the Amazing Birthday stamp set.

Look out for some inspirational artwork from the Design Team coming very soon and don't forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning our monthly prize. At the end of each month one lucky commentor will be randomly chosen to receive a gift certificate to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps.

Judith